Grease gun



E. P. sEGHERs Jagt zo, 1931;

GREAsn GUN 'Filed Jan. 17. 1921 Patented Jan'. y20.1931

.nmnn 1. snannns, 'or cnrcneo, 'n .nmors GREASE GUN' p Appimuon mea January y17, 1927. serial nu. 161,478.

f This invention relates to a device for injecting lubricatingmaterial into bearings and has for one Aof its objects the provision of a device of the class named which may be easily A urther object is to provide improved means for attaching the gun to the bearing. Other objects will appear from the following description. 10 The'invention is exemplified in the combii nation and arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawing and described in the following specification, and it is more particular-ly pointed out in the appended claims. y In the drawings Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a grease gun embodying one form of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of a por- 20 tion of the'grease gun shown in Fig; 1; Fig. 3 is a section online 3-3 of ig. 2; Fig. 4 is an elevation of a nipple for attaching the gun to a. bearing to be lubricated; Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a section similar to Fig. 5 but showing a slightly modified form of construction. This invention is, in part, a continuation of m prior `application Serial No. 58,220,

filed eptember 24, 1925.

Inthe drawing', the numeral 10 designates the cylinder or barrel of a grease gun having a piston 11 movable longitudinally of the barrel 10. The piston 11` is provided with a stem 12 threaded in a cap 13 which, in turn `1s threaded 'on the rear end of the barrel 10. '.lhe piston 11 is provided with a cup-shaped -leather 14 which is=held in' place b a dJsc 15 and a nut 16. -The nut 16 is re erahl attached to the end of the stem 12 ya left ndI a thread so that when the stem 12 is withdrawn to its-extreme position .shown in Fig. 1, fur; Y ther rotation of the stem'12 will tend to tighten the n ut 16 in place-on the xston 11, thus avoiding anydangerof data c ent of e 'the piston from the stem. With this arrangement,it is possible to use the steni 12 for unf screwing the cap* 13 from the end of the barrel 10. rlhe outside threads o n the end of the barrel for retaining'thecap 13 extend along the barrel 10 a-grfeater distance than 1s J 'drawn to provide a vvent througn the pernecessary for en agement with the ca and a ring 17 '1s three ed on the barrel in ront of the cap 13. In the manufacture of the device, the vring 17 may be originally made inte- .53

gral with the flange of the cap 13 and after 1thasbeen' threaded, a portion of the flange may be severed to form the ring 17. This has been found to effect economy in the maiufacture of the device.' l

The ring 17, as shown in Fig. 2, is provided with a peripherally extending notch 18 -in its forward end which engages the spring stop 19 secured to the barrel 10. The stop 19 may be sprung outwardly to permit the ring 17 to he threaded into place or to be removed 1f desired. When the parts are in place, however, the stop vv19 limits rotation of the ring 17 to a partial rotation. The ring 17 is formed outwardly at one ortidn of its circumference to-provide a oss 20, leaving a recess 21 between the ringv and ,the surface of the barrel 10. The boss is oil'set toward one edge of the .ring 17 so that the recess 21 is open at one edge thereof but closed atl the oppositeedge thereof, as shown in Fig. 1. A thumb screw 22 is threaded through the boss 20 and forms a needle valve for closing a perforation 23 through the wall of the barrel 10; When the ring 17 i's rotated to one extremity of its movement, as determined by the stop- 19, the screw 22 .will be locked inregistration with the perforation 23 so that the screw may he turned inwardly to close tightly the perforation 23, o'r ma be withforation, openin to atmosphere at the edge of the ring 17 w ere the recess 21 extends to the edge of the ring, The erforation 23 may a so be. closed by partial yrotating the ring 17 until the recess isbrought out of registration withl the perforation 23. In, `this position the inner face of. the 'ring 17 will close the perforation 23. For some'- vforms of lubrication', this will constitute a.

s niiiciently tight closure and it will not'be necessary .toV use the screw 22. forms, however, in order to secure .a gulli-- ciently tight closure, it may be able' touse the screw 22 by means of which the berforation 23. can -beabsolutelyclosed.

4as i found desir- V vided with an external flange 28 having a tapered perforation 29 therethrough for engaging the tapered end 30 of a nipple 31 which is secured to a bearing member 32 or other device to which lubrication is to be supplied. A sleeve'33 fits within the cou-v peing 27 and the forward end of the sleeve ars upon a perforated washer 34 which rests upon the flange 28. The sleeve 33 is provided with an internal flange 35 which ,forms a valve seat having a perforation arranged to be closed-by a valve 36. The valve 36 is provided with a stem 37' guided by an' opening in a washer 38 held in the rear end of the sleeve 33. A perforated washer 39 surrounds the valve stem 37 and a spring 40 is interposed between the (washer39 and the washer 38 and operates to close the valve 36. Thevalve stem 37 is provided with a perforation 41 to permit passage of lubricating material from the barrel 10 past the valve 36 and through the perforation in the flange 35. A packing washer 42 is interposed between the discharge s out 26 and the rear end of the sleeve 33 to old the sleeve 33 within the coupling 27 and to prevent escape of lubricating material.

The nipple 31 is provided with a spring- -held ball valve 43 which opens inwardly when subjected to pressure. The valve 43 is held by a spring 44 which is retained in I the opening inthe nipple 31 by a split spring ring 45 which engages the circular recess 1n the wall of the perforation through the nipple 31. The front end of the coupling '27 is provided with a circular recess'46 havbrought into registration with the flange 47 the nipple will enter the opening I46. A groove 49 is formed in the periphery of the nipple 31 and is slightly inclined relative to the axis of the nipple to form a cam face for co-operation with the flange 47. The outer face of the groove 49 adjacent the flat side 48 ofl the nipple may be rounded off, as indicated at 50, to facilitate entrance of the flange 47 into the' groove 49 when the connector 27 is `rotated relative to the nipple. It-will be apparent that when the connector 27 is placed over the nipple and given a partial rotation, the flange 47 will enter the tapered portion 30 of the nipple into the tapered se'at 29 of the flange 28. This will form a tight connection between the nipple and theconnector so that lubrication under pressure within the connector will force the Valve 43 open and pass through the interior of the nipple 31. The nipple 31 is provided with a tapered boss 51 which extends beyond the tapered portion 30 and engages a stud 52 on the end of the valve stem 37 to unseat the valve 36. Theboss 51 enters the perforation in the washer 34 which is preferably of less diameter than Ithe maximum diameter of the boss 51 so that when lubrication under pressure engages the rear face of the washer 34, the washer will be forced against the tapered surface of the boss 5l and further pack the jo-int between the nipple 31 and the connector 27. The connector 27 is provided with a flat portion 53, or other index, to indicate the position of the flange 47 so that the connector may bereadily placed in prop-Y er position on the nipple to cause the flange 47 and flat portion 48 of the nipple to register with each other. The nipple 31 is provided with a hexagonal flange 54 by means of which it may be tightly screwed into the bearing member 32 and the rear end of the connector 27 is also hexagonal to facilitate lconnection and disconnection with the discharge spout 26. In place lof the flange 47, a pin 55 may be secured to the connector 27 for co-operatio-n with the cam slot 49, as indicated in Fig. 6. y

In operation, the connector 27 is placed over the nipple 31` and given a slight rotation to cause the flange 47 to enter the cam slot 49 which draws the nipple and the connector 27 tightly together and opens the valve v36. The stem 12 may then be rotated lto place the lubricating material in the barrel 10 under pressure which will forc the lubricating material through the perforation 41, past the valve 36 and into the nipple 3l. The lubrieating material will be prevented from escaping about the nipple by the tapered portion 30 of the nipple seated inthe flange 38 and by the washer 34 which bears against `the stud 51. The pressure of lthe lubricating material will force the ball valve 43 open to permit passage of the material thru the l nipple 31. Soflong as the leather 14 is in the rear of the perforation 23, the perforation 23 is kept closed to prevent escape of lubrieating material thru the perforation. During passage of lubricating material, the

vscrew valve 25 tightly closes the perforation When itis desired toA refill the gun, the' piston 11 yis retracted until the leather 14 clears the perforation 23, as indicated in Fig. 1. The connector 27 or discharge nozzle 26 vice from which the material may be ejected under pressure. The' material is then subjected to pressure and forced into the barrel through its discharge spout. The air lo within the barrel escapin through the vent 23 which is at this time le o en for this vpurpose. As soon as the gun as become filled,

' a slight amount of lubricating material will appear at the opening 21 so that the operator will be apprised of the fact that the gun is full. However, lubricating material commonly used in devices of thiskind, will seal the vent so that, even though pressure is continued on the supply, no further lubrication will enter the gun. It will be apparent that the gun can be filled at any time, irrespective of whether it has beenpreviously entirely emptied or not. This is a greatv advantage vover prior devices which are filled from the rear for, in devices of that kind, a pocket of air will be trapped'between the new suplply ofl grease and anygrease remaining int e gun so that the grease in the gun will be shot from the discharge end thereof. Another advantage is, .of course, that it isvunnecessary to remove the cap 13 from the rear Aend of the un when the gun is to be refilled and since 1t is only necessary to connect the discharge end of the gun with the source of'supply, the outer surface of the gun is not soiled bythe lubricating material.

In case it becomes necessary to lill the gun under circumstances where the supply cannot be placed under pressure, the gun, of course, may be filled from the rear in the usual way and this process is greatly facilitated by the vent 24 which will permit escape of any air. entrapped in the gun by a body of grease inserted at the-rear end thereof.v

Where the gun is used with a flexible hose connection,the hose may be attached to the internal threads in the discharge spout 26 and the coupling 27 will be attached to the free end of the hose. The coupling 27 will not tend to separate from the nipple 31 under,4

pressure within the coupling for the reason that the inclination of the cam groove 49 is very slight andthe principal relative movenient between the nipple and connector is taken up by the flared por-tion 50 at the entrance to the cam groove. When lubrication has been completed and the connector 27 is detached from the nipple 31, the valve 43 will close the nipple and the valve 36 will close thel connector so that further escape of the `lubricating material is prevented. 1- 'Anymaterial adheringto the nipple 31 may be "readily wiped away because there are no project-` ing pins on the nipple to catch upon the wiper. The nipple, ofcourse, may he provided with Vranged to close said vent.

' a suitable dust capA or cover, if desired.

may be attached to' the nipple by means of a peripheral groove 56 formed therein.

` 1 that when the Itwill be ,seen from Fig. piston is in its rearmost position, the leather -14 projects beyond the flange of the cap 13.

This 'facilitates replacement of the leather in the barrel when the cap is replaced after removal. 4

When the connector 27 is removed from the nipple 31, the spring 40 operates to close the valve 36 to prevent further discharge of lubricating material from the gun. The perfo# rated washer 39 operates to assist the spring 40 in closing the valve' for the reason that the washer offers a resistance to the passage of the lubricating material, thus 'enabling the pressure in the gun to exert a. force on the washer, operating'in the same direction as the springe() to close the valve 36.

It is'noted that the groove 49 does not extend entirely-around the nipple 31 but terminates at the periphery of thel nipple at a point indicated by the reference character 57. If, for any reason, the tapered portion 30 does not t closely into the opening in the flangia 28 so as to limit the inward movement of t e nipple 31, the portion 57 will bind against the face of the web 47 and hold the nip le and connector tightly together. The we ging engagement at this point also holds lthe parts from accidental reverse rotation.

I claim 1. A grease gun comprising a barrel having a discharge spout at one end thereof, a

piston arranged. to reciprocate in said har-v rel, said barrel having a vent in the wall thereof adjacent the end of said barrel oposite said discharge spout, a ring surrounding said barrel and rotatable on said barrel, and means on said ring for opening and closin' said vent when said ring is rotated to various selected positions. b

v 2. A grease gun comprising a barrel having a discharge spout at one end thereof, a piston arranged to reciprocate insaid barrel, said barrel having a vent thereon adjacent the end opposite said dischar e spout, a" ring rotatably mounted on said arrel in registration with said vent and'having a limited portionspaced outwardly from the outer surface of said barrel to leave said vent open when said spaced portion is in registration therewith, said ring being arranged to close said vent when'said spaced portion is moved out of registration therewith.

3. A grease gun comprising ay barrel having a discharge'spout at one end thereof, a

piston arranged to reciprocate in said har4 rel, said barrel having a vent thereinadjacent the end opposite said discharge spout,

a supportinggmember mounted on said barrel, and a screw having threadedy .engagement with said supporting member and ar- 4.A ase guni comprising a barrel havinvr a ischarge spout. at one end thereof,

sald barrel having a vent therein adjacent4 the end opposite said discharge spout, a ring rotatably mounted on said barrel in registration withsaid vent and havin means thereon arranged vto o n said vent w 'en said ring is in one position lofrota'tion andto close said vent when said ring is in a different position of rotation, and a stop-for limiting rotation of said ring.

5'. A grease gun comprising a barrel havl ing a discharge spout at lone end thereof, a

ing a discharge spout at one end thereof, a piston arranged to reciprocate in said bar- .4.

' and a stop for limitin rotation of said ring ring .threaded on said barrel adjacent the end thereof opposite said discharge spout, a cap threaded on said'barrel in the rear of said ring, said barrel .having vent therethrough in registration with saidring, said ring being arran ed to close said vent when in one Eosition o rotation and to open said vent w en 1n another position of rotation,

said stop being'yiel ngly movable out o operative position to permit rotation of said ring beyond its normal range of movement.v

6. A ease gun comprising a barrel havrel, said barrelhaving avent therein adjacent the end opposite said discharge spout, a closure member mounted on said barrel, and

means to tighten the enga ement between the closure member and the arrel adjacent the vent in said barrel.

7. `A 'grease gun comjiising` a substantially cylindrical mem r or receiving grease, a discharge spout at one end thereof, a ring rotatably mounted on'said cylindrical member, an o ening in said cylindrical member adjacent t e end op osite to the spout, said ring having means t ereon adapted to close said o ning in one position of adjustment on sai cylindrical member and beingso constructed as to expose said opening when in another position of adjustment,

and tmeans for exerting pressure between i said ring and the surface `of said cylindrical member adjacent said o ning to cause said v rin member to effective y close said opening whi e in said position of adjustment where'- in said ring is ada ted to close said opening. In testimonywhereof I have signed my name to this specification on this 4th dayl of January, A. D. 1927.

1 Y EMIEL P. SEGI-IERS. 

